Rumor: 2024-2025 Trade Rumors and Free Agency Talk | Part Deux

[Grigowski]

The contract year thing may be real with Mittelstadt. He played great last season to earn a raise, and a bit in his first season, then taken his foot off the gas.

Thank god the contract is tradable. Only 2 years left. Sorry, i really hope CMac doesnt f*** around her either.....

Sorry dude, we gave up a young Top4 D with a ring for you. We handed you a very good contract which sets you up for even more in FA... And this is what we get? Get your shit together or you are gone...

We have no time for this shit. Our cup window is closing pretty fast...

 

[Alienblood]

Thank god the contract is tradable. Only 2 years left. Sorry, i really hope CMac doesnt f*** around her either.....

Sorry dude, we gave up a young Top4 D with a ring for you. We handed you a very good contract which sets you up for even more in FA... And this is what we get? Get your shit together or you are gone...

We have no time for this shit. Our cup window is closing pretty fast...

it's a bad contract but find a way to move him

 

[Bender]

If you're getting Lawson Crouse, I want Mathieu Olivier and demand that they play together

Bednar would make sure neither guy would hit anyone out there.

The contract year thing may be real with Mittelstadt. He played great last season to earn a raise, and a bit in his first season, then taken his foot off the gas.

This is all kinds of wrong. If that were the case, he wouldn't have put up 16 points in his first 15 games.

Something happened, he got injured or something to do with his skating that he's had to played through. He's getting out of it though - don't know if the Avs will move him for an upgrade either way or maybe add a safety net (Nelson) but 5 points in his last 6 games, he's showing signs of coming out of it.

 

[Vaslof]

Bednar would make sure neither guy would hit anyone out there.

This is all kinds of wrong. If that were the case, he wouldn't have put up 16 points in his first 15 games.

Something happened, he got injured or something to do with his skating that he's had to played through. He's getting out of it though - don't know if the Avs will move him for an upgrade either way or maybe add a safety net (Nelson) but 5 points in his last 6 games, he's showing signs of coming out of it.

There wasn't really a drop off the cliff on 5v5 play though, he's been steadily getting worse at least to the point where I last tracked his stats. In points total a large drop came from being removed from PP1. You are right that in the last 6 games he's looking good stats wise. It's still a small sample size, but for example in the previous 13 games before the last 6 games he had a shot differential of -40, now in the 6 games it is +28. P/GP without PPP trend was 0.5 -> 0.4 -> 0.3 in the three splits I made before, now in the 6 games it is 0.83. His PP time is at an all time low 0:59/GP whereas it was 4:04/GP in the first 17 games of the season. FOW% had also been trending down until now, in the previous 13 games before these 6 games it was 38.9%, in these 6 games it was 46.3%.

It's a good start, but he needs to keep it up. Maybe the 2nd line is working?

 

[Balthazar]

They are going to push the Necas-Mackinnon combo for a while but ultimately I would like Necas on the 2nd line, especially when Nuke comes back.

The fact that he can drive a line and plays a similar game to Mack allows us to create a top 6 consisting of two lines constructed the same way:

Drouin - Mack - Nuke
Lehky - Mitts - Necas

Mack ---> Necas = line driver
Drouin ---> Mitts = playmaker
Nuke ---> Lehky = 2-way / net-front guy

 

[shadow1]

Mittelstadt's last 5 games have been great (60.8 CF%, 61.1 xGF%), hopefully a turning point in his erratic season.

I don't care if the team moves on from him, but I don't know if they will or should. If it's for an older UFA rental (i.e. Nelson), I'm not sure if I'd go there personally. This team is just too many pieces away from competing for a Cup. Multiple defensemen, an upgrade at 2C, and some kind of significant piece on the 3rd line, because the Avs aren't winning jack shit with a unit of Wood/Drury/Colton (that trio was eviscerated by the Rangers, btw).

 

[CobraAcesS]

Mitts is a solid two way 50-60 point middle six tweener.

The problem is, this place was talked into thinking he was a better player than he is, with daily repetitive narratives for months/years, from people who were simultaneously huge Mitts stans, and Byram haters since they were drafted.

For some reason people still think a month or two of good play is more representative of who he is than his entire career. He's been an inconsistent 50-60 point middle six tweener his entire career.

His career high is 59 points in 82 games. Last year he scored at a 58 point pace. Those have been his best two career seasons, and one came in a contract year. There's nothing to support he's a better player other than hope.

Right now everyone thinks he's been so much worse than what they were expecting, but he's scoring at a 50 point pace. This would be his 3rd best season in the NHL.

He'll probably pick it up a bit at some point and end with around 60 points again on the season. This is who he is.

You know, it's reasonable to expect a bump in production coming here. No one was expecting point per game.

Also Mitts himself has said he's never had a stretch like this.

Also production is only one factor, being behind the play and bad defensively is another on its own.

I maintain he didn't learn the lesson from the first partial season here, and up his conditioning. I still think he started out the season going all out and hit a wall. He sure as f*** knows now. He's had to grind his way back.

No one has a better explanation than fatigue. What he did in November and December isn't him or what he's been in his career.

As of late he's back to what we expected of him.

 

[ABasin]

Mitts is a solid two way 50-60 point middle six tweener.

The problem is, this place was talked into thinking he was a better player than he is, with daily repetitive narratives for months/years, from people who were simultaneously huge Mitts stans, and Byram haters since they were drafted.

For some reason people still think a month or two of good play is more representative of who he is than his entire career. He's been an inconsistent 50-60 point middle six tweener his entire career.

His career high is 59 points in 82 games. Last year he scored at a 58 point pace. Those have been his best two career seasons, and one came in a contract year. There's nothing to support he's a better player other than hope.

Right now everyone thinks he's been so much worse than what they were expecting, but he's scoring at a 50 point pace. This would be his 3rd best season in the NHL.

He'll probably pick it up a bit at some point and end with around 60 points again on the season. This is who he is.

Good post, Foppa. Agree with the notion that Mittelstadt is a solid but unspectacular 2C, reasonable defensively, 60ish point guy. Perhaps if he had healthy Lehkonen and Drouin on his wings for...say...70 games he could creep up into the mid-60s or a bit better.

But I disagree with one part of your post. I don't believe the issue in regards to Avs fans' frustration with him this season, is due to fans having unrealistic expectations of Mittelstadt. I think it's more due to the fact that the man completely disappeared for the better part of a third of the season - a third of the full 82 game season.

He had 2 goals and 8 assists across 27 games, from around mid-November through mid-January. That's not a 50 point pace, or a 60 point pace. That's a 30 point pace. In that timeframe, he had 15 games in which he not only didn't register a point, he did not have a single shot on goal.

They may have just as well put my sorry old ass out there on the 2nd line for 2 months. He was utterly invisible on the ice. Entirely unengaged. That's what the issue is to most Avs fans, including me. I'm not expecting a 80 point 2C mini-MacKinnon out there. I'm expecting a ~60 point 2C, who is actually engaged in the damn hockey game.

He's been better over the past 10 days or so. Let's hope it's a trend, rather than an anomaly.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Mittelstadt's last 5 games have been great (60.8 CF%, 61.1 xGF%), hopefully a turning point in his erratic season.

I don't care if the team moves on from him, but I don't know if they will or should. If it's for an older UFA rental (i.e. Nelson), I'm not sure if I'd go there personally. This team is just too many pieces away from competing for a Cup. Multiple defensemen, an upgrade at 2C, and some kind of significant piece on the 3rd line, because the Avs aren't winning jack shit with a unit of Wood/Drury/Colton (that trio was eviscerated by the Rangers, btw).

Also 5 points in his last 5. He's back, and it's been against some good teams. Let's see if he sustains it.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Wonder if Lawson Crouse could be an interesting trade target for the Avs. IIRC they were quite high on him his draft year.


Having a down year but he could be a good buy low type of candidate. Maybe swap Colton for him?

The pride of Mount Brydges, Ontario… standing 6’4”, weighing 215 pounds… three straight 20+ goal seasons… speed, physicality, defensive prowess, big shot, net front and board demon…

…LAWSON CROUSE makes me feel some sort of way.

Dream acquisition. I’ve always loved how he plays.

Actually if there is a question as to if Nuke needs surgery, my not be healthy for the playoffs etc. If you can get Crouse you do it. We need that type of player, and we don't know how Landeskog will look.

There just isn't that many guys like that in the league. Crouse isn't Nuke or Landeskog, but outside of some monster like Tom Wilson it's as close as you get.

This team with Crouse instead of Colton rn..

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

Also 5 points in his last 5. He's back, and it's been against some good teams. Let's see if he sustains it.

I’m honestly hoping it was just a mental block/slump, I’ve said it before, when he’s on I really like him as a player

 

[Gumballhead]

I’m honestly hoping it was just a mental block/slump, I’ve said it before, when he’s on I really like him as a player

I haven't given up hope. He's got such good hands and vision, he is just right for the team. His defense is solid too, he's responsible like a center should be.

 

[CobraAcesS]

I’m honestly hoping it was just a mental block/slump, I’ve said it before, when he’s on I really like him as a player

If I'm right, all it takes to fix it is continued high level effort. He's done that, and seems to be climbing out of it. He's getting more and more consistent.

He still has better linemates than the start of the year lol.

 

[flyfysher]

You know, it's reasonable to expect a bump in production coming here. No one was expecting point per game.

Also Mitts himself has said he's never had a stretch like this.

Also production is only one factor, being behind the play and bad defensively is another on its own.

I maintain he didn't learn the lesson from the first partial season here, and up his conditioning. I still think he started out the season going all out and hit a wall. He sure as f*** knows now. He's had to grind his way back.

No one has a better explanation than fatigue. What he did in November and December isn't him or what he's been in his career.

As of late he's back to what we expected of him.

Where does Mitts live and presumably train in the offseason? Lower elevation?

 

[flyfysher]

If I'm right, all it takes to fix it is continued high level effort. He's done that, and seems to be climbing out of it. He's getting more and more consistent.

He still has better linemates than the start of the year lol.

Avs don’t need another Rantanen type of issue. Mitts has the attributes to be a serviceable 2C. He won’t produce like Rants did but Avs fans don’t tolerate a lack of effort well.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Avs don’t need another Rantanen type of issue. Mitts has the attributes to be a serviceable 2C. He won’t produce like Rants did but Avs fans don’t tolerate a lack of effort well.

His effort level has never been an issue on the ice. My theory is he didn't put the work in that he needed to during the off season to skate in this system.

My biggest question with him was would he recognize that, and be able to adapt quickly. That is something I thought about even before the trade.

When or if he'd hit a wall because of what Bednar demands. Especially from his top six.

You see it in guys we love like LOC when they're moved up. They look OK for a bit, and then disappear.

 

[dahrougem2]

Actually if there is a question as to if Nuke needs surgery, my not be healthy for the playoffs etc. If you can get Crouse you do it. We need that type of player, and we don't know how Landeskog will look.

There just isn't that many guys like that in the league. Crouse isn't Nuke or Landeskog, but outside of some monster like Tom Wilson it's as close as you get.

This team with Crouse instead of Colton rn..

Lawson Crouse is probably the only player I'd be ok with trading Val for. I think if you stick him on MacKinnon's like the way they do Val and park him in front on the PP, there's a 35-30 guy. He plays like Val but doesn't have nearly the same issues. Now, Val is also the superior hockey player when he's on his game (I think honestly Val is a top-10 winger in hockey) so it'd be a downgrade for sure.

 

[NorthernAvsFan]

I love hearing the “we’re all in” comments from McFarland. That eliminates any concern that they were content with a transitionary year after the Rantanen trade.

Interested to see what’s to come. I wonder if Mittelstadt’s improved play of late is giving them pause in a move for a 2C.

I think they need another defender, and some sustained health, obviously.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Lawson Crouse is probably the only player I'd be ok with trading Val for. I think if you stick him on MacKinnon's like the way they do Val and park him in front on the PP, there's a 35-30 guy. He plays like Val but doesn't have nearly the same issues. Now, Val is also the superior hockey player when he's on his game (I think honestly Val is a top-10 winger in hockey) so it'd be a downgrade for sure.

Yeah, if we find out Landeskog is actually done this off season, that's the next player I target with everything you've got. Unless there is someone else out there I'm not aware of. Those type of players are key to Bednar's system working.

I fully believe having Landeskog, Nuke, and Lehhky healthy was a key to the sauce.

Edit.. They weren't even actually healthy. Both Nuke and Landeskog were f***ed up, but still played.

 

[Pokecheque]

I still don't think it was a lack of physical effort. I haven't played in a long, long time, and even back then I was nothing close to a star, but I know what it was like to be going through the motions and it not working no matter how hard I tried because I wasn't mentally checked in.

I feel like that's been the problem, just a mix of shattered confidence and a guy who was totally overthinking things (still also convinced injury played a part too). Hopefully we'll see better going forward.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

I love hearing the “we’re all in” comments from McFarland. That eliminates any concern that they were content with a transitionary year after the Rantanen trade.

Interested to see what’s to come. I wonder if Mittelstadt’s improved play of late is giving them pause in a move for a 2C.

I think they need another defender, and some sustained health, obviously.

The team has to be hoping Mitts works out and will wait as long as they can(i.e. TDL in 6 weeks) to pull the trigger on a 2C deal. The fact is we paid a pretty penny for Mitts by moving Byram, got him signed for 3 years, he's a good age, and we don't have tons of assets to try and acquire another 2C.

We need defensemen. Ideally, 2 of them.

I don't think anybody here wants Malinski, de Haan, Middleton, or Kylington playing in the playoffs, nevermind two of them which would be a disaster. One or two of these guys need to be the 7/8 options in case of injuries.

We need to go 1 of 2 ways:

1. Acquire new RHD and LHD for the bottom pairing. Shouldn't cost too much.

or

2. Acquire a new RHD for the second pair, pushing Manson down to third pair, and a new LHD for the bottom pair. This might cost more and makes the cap situation a bit tighter.

 

[CobraAcesS]

I still don't think it was a lack of physical effort. I haven't played in a long, long time, and even back then I was nothing close to a star, but I know what it was like to be going through the motions and it not working no matter how hard I tried because I wasn't mentally checked in.

I feel like that's been the problem, just a mix of shattered confidence and a guy who was totally overthinking things (still also convinced injury played a part too). Hopefully we'll see better going forward.

We'll never know which, unless we find out he was dealing with some sort of family issue or something like that comes out.

Hopefully he's through it, either way.

 

[CobraAcesS]

The team has to be hoping Mitts works out and will wait as long as they can(i.e. TDL in 6 weeks) to pull the trigger on a 2C deal. The fact is we paid a pretty penny for Mitts by moving Byram, got him signed for 3 years, he's a good age, and we don't have tons of assets to try and acquire another 2C.

We need defensemen. Ideally, 2 of them.

I don't think anybody here wants Malinski, de Haan, Middleton, or Kylington playing in the playoffs, nevermind two of them which would be a disaster. One or two of these guys need to be the 7/8 options in case of injuries.

We need to go 1 of 2 ways:

1. Acquire new RHD and LHD for the bottom pairing. Shouldn't cost too much.

or

2. Acquire a new RHD for the second pair, pushing Manson down to third pair, and a new LHD for the bottom pair. This might cost more and makes the cap situation a bit tighter.

Yeah, one thing about going for a top four D. If we actually do need to replace Mitts, there is less assets available.

I wonder if that's what's delaying one or even both moves.

Mitts is starting to swing the pendulum in favor of making the bigger move on D.

We need another solid week out of him, and then I think they'll pull the trigger or try to.

 

[dahrougem2]

The team has to be hoping Mitts works out and will wait as long as they can(i.e. TDL in 6 weeks) to pull the trigger on a 2C deal. The fact is we paid a pretty penny for Mitts by moving Byram, got him signed for 3 years, he's a good age, and we don't have tons of assets to try and acquire another 2C.

We need defensemen. Ideally, 2 of them.

I don't think anybody here wants Malinski, de Haan, Middleton, or Kylington playing in the playoffs, nevermind two of them which would be a disaster. One or two of these guys need to be the 7/8 options in case of injuries.

We need to go 1 of 2 ways:

1. Acquire new RHD and LHD for the bottom pairing. Shouldn't cost too much.

or

2. Acquire a new RHD for the second pair, pushing Manson down to third pair, and a new LHD for the bottom pair. This might cost more and makes the cap situation a bit tighter.

We also know how CMac likes to operate - he'll avoid UFAs if possible and try to target players with term or pending RFAs.

I feel like if he targets two d-men, one of them will be controlled.

 

[CobraAcesS]

We also know how CMac likes to operate - he'll avoid UFAs if possible and try to target players with term or pending RFAs.

I feel like if he targets two d-men, one of them will be controlled.

Yeah I could see like an Anderssen (just examples), and Doumolin. Then just telling Nuke and/or Landeskog to take their time.

If we get the help on D this team can get in as is.